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Cloquet boys basketball team 'on fire'

In the game of basketball, there are times when a team's performance or skills are termed to be "on fire."

Last week, though, I believe the Cloquet Middle School boys basketball teams redefined that phrase.

Getting ready to travel to nearby Barnum for their season opener last Tuesday afternoon, the Cloquet seventh- and eighth-grade boys basketball team school bus caught fire.

No, not a little smolder, a real fire -- flames and all.

"The flames were insane," said Lumberjacks co-coach Donny McCarthy, 43, not able to reach with his wingspan wide or high enough to describe their higher-than-the-bus height. "Flames were pouring out of the dash. The smoke was bad -- it was black. The whole front end was on fire."

The presumed electrical fire first started as smoke when the bus driver evacuated the 30-plus players, before she contacted dispatch, immediately leading to 911. Moments later, Cloquet detective Darrin Berg arrived and used a fire extinguisher from his patrol vehicle to contain the blaze, while the school's east wing side street was soon barricaded and the fire department got to the site.

Principal Tom Brenner, in his 11th year, was on the phone before rushing to the scene that he said lasted just 10-15 minutes and was handled well by all adults involved.

"The bus driver did a fantastic job, the coaches did their job, the staff in the building recognized the situation and made sure everyone was safe," Brenner said this week. "It's a bad situation, but that's why we do emergency drills, so we're prepared. We're just thankful no one was injured.

"I've never seen anything like it."

Co-coach RaRa Jones, 21, helped evacuate all of the kids, before safely getting them on another bus to board.